Finally, incontrovertible proof that Trump is either suffering from some degenerative neurological condition, being poisoned by elites to whom we should all be rather grateful, or else he's just a giant baby doing giant baby things.

Thanks and all, sweet elites, but do you think you could maybe switch to a faster poison?

"And I just want to thank you, because you are very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here. Although, we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago... they call her... Pocahontas... But you know what, I like you. Because you are special."

"Uh, General Kelly, just come up for one second. I wanna just have you say what you told me, a little bit about the Code Talkers. Because it really has been -- learning about you and learning about what you've done has been something that I'd like General Kelly to, uh, say to the press."

Incompetence truly does breed incompetence and Trump proves his once again with the nomination of a would-be federal judge with virtually no relevant experience at all and even less knowledge.

Though the White House hilariously maintained their support of this candidate, keeping with the pattern of pigheaded stubbornness over any form of sense, he's since withdrawn from consideration with the claim that he wouldn't want his "two worst minutes on television . . . to be a continued distraction from the important work of [Trump's] administration."

They were betrayed. Aguinaldo made a deal with some US general (I forget exactly who) that if the Pinoys helped during the Seige of Manila the US would grant them independence. They supplied the US with info and scouts and were the front line in the assualt on Manila. Then after victory the US fucked them over.

President Donald Trump, who won the White House on a wave of populist promises, will likely save millions of dollars thanks to Congress' approval of a tax plan he pledged was designed for the middle class. Trump, who said he would be a "big loser" if the bill passed, stands to gain immensely from the Republican tax overhaul, including through a lower top tax rate and lucrative deductions for top-earning households, according to attorneys and tax experts who reviewed the final bill.

Trump could also take advantage of benefits that will lift specific business sectors, including a last-minute tax deduction that helps many owners of high-value commercial real estate, the industry where he first made his fortune.

"I'm not even aware of a single provision in the bill that disadvantages him or his family, other than the change to state and local tax deductibility," said Daniel Shaviro, a tax professor at the New York University School of Law who worked for Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation during the country's last major tax overhaul in 1986. "It's so clear that he is financially much better off than previously," he said, adding, "I'd be at a loss as to how they could even dare to argue [otherwise]."

Exactly how much the president could save under the plan is unknown, since Trump has broken with 40 years of White House precedent by refusing to release his tax returns.

A half-dozen tax attorneys, professors and former congressional tax drafters told The Washington Post that Trump would undoubtedly benefit from the legislation, which Congress passed on Wednesday and sent to his desk for a final signature.

All of which leaves us with the overriding question: Why? Why would Republicans pass a bill so wretchedly unpopular to benefit such a small slice of Americans? Some lawmakers, like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Chris Collins, have bluntly admitted that their donors simply demand it. Others, like House Speaker Paul Ryan, may be true believers in conservative economic dogma. And others could be self-interested: The Senate originally planned a smaller pass-through cut, until Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson threatened to kill the whole effort unless it was expanded, an expansion that may benefit his family’s own business interests.

But the overarching reason is the same: The Republican party answers to the interests of wealth. Lawmakers listen to their donors. They listen to conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation or Hoover Institution, which are funded by the wealthy to create an intellectual justification for deeply regressive policy making. And sometimes, they just listen to their own accountants. The result is a tax code that favors the interests of entrenched money. After three decades of rising wealth inequality, business owners and investors are finding new ways to extend their run. The question now is how the rest of us can stop them.